Curiosity in classrooms: An examination of curiosity promotion and suppression in preschool math and science classrooms

Where should I search next? Messages embedded in storybooks influence children’s strategic exploration in Turkey and the United States.

“…As recently as 2012-2013, U.S. prekindergarten teachers have reported spending at least half of their instructional time-and sometimes much more-engaged in activities planned and structured by the teacher rather than in child-directed, exploratory activities (Vaisarova & Reynolds, 2022). Observational studies mirror these findings, suggesting that U.S. teachers rarely encourage students to generate questions or ideas (i.e., engage in curiosity-driven exploration, Evans et al, 2023;Jirout et al, 2022). Turkish early childhood education settings, too, have been characterized by a strong adherence to rules and structured, teacher-directed activities (Gol-Guven, 2009;Karademir et al, 2020) as well as by pressure to reduce child-directed play to make space for academic activities (Tuğrul et al, 2019).…”

“…The control story, in contrast, was designed to provide an ecologically valid comparison by reflecting the kinds of pedagogical messages and practices often embedded in both United States and Turkish classrooms (Evans et al, 2023;Gol-Guven, 2009;Jirout et al, 2022;Thornberg & Oğuz, 2013) and parent-child joint reading interactions (Durmuşoğlu & Erdem, 2006;Huebner & Meltzoff, 2005;Kotaman, 2007;Ward et al, 2017). In the control story, the main character searched for treasure based on predetermined instructions (e.g., a map and checklist) and did not question or alter their search strategy in response to new information; the emphasis was on correctly following instructions and listening to other characters in order to find the right island.…”

“…Curiosity is an important engine of learning and has been positively linked to children’s academic achievement (Gualtieri & Finn, 2022; Shah et al, 2018). However, little research has examined whether it is possible to intervene to boost children’s curiosity (Schutte & Malouff, 2023), and there are concerns that messages traditionally emphasized in classrooms (e.g., following instructions to get correct answers) might fail to promote curiosity-driven inquiry and exploration (Evans et al, 2023; Jirout et al, 2018). Here, we aim to fill this gap by investigating whether children’s curiosity is malleable and how it might be shaped by verbal messages about learning and problem solving.…”

The Role of Curiosity to Study Engagement of Students in Gymnastics: Extrapolating Reciprocity

“…The natural propensity of individuals toward curiosity serves as a powerful driver of motivation (Mahama et al, 2023;Shah et al, 2023), forming a crucial area of investigation for psychologists and educational researchers exploring fundamental traits and personal attributes (Evans et al, 2023;Spitzer et al, 2023). However, curiosity research faces challenges arising from diverse vocabulary, operational definitions, and measuring methods, which have hindered its progress despite its widespread recognition among academic communities.…”